BOSTON (Reuters) - Diversified manufacturer Ingersoll-Rand Co Ltd said on Monday it would buy Trane Inc , a maker of heating and air conditioning systems, for $9.4 billion in cash and stock.

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Monday that moves by some big banks to bring off-balance sheet investments tied to subprime mortgages back onto their books would help ward off a widespread credit crunch.

LONDON (Reuters) - British financier Guy Hands, known for his outspoken views, has sent bankers, investors and journalists a letter of best wishes for 2008 with a Christmas gift of a book -- "The Great Crash 1929" by John Kenneth Galbraith.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc said on Monday it has settled a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Universal Music Group and hopes to reach deals with the other music companies.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc has named Don Callahan as chief administrative officer, according to an internal memo obtained by Reuters on Monday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sentiment toward the U.S. housing sector remained poor in December and a regional factory index showed weakness, while other data on Monday suggested the dollar's shrinking value had boosted trade and capital inflows in recent months.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A new Goldman Sachs Group stock hedge fund could be launched with more than $6 billion, with some investors expecting the fund to attract as much $10 billion, people familiar with the fund said.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home builder sentiment held at a record low for a third consecutive month in December, weighed down by problems in the mortgage market and a huge supply of unsold houses, an industry group said on Monday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co Inc has rehired Jeffrey Kronthal, a fixed-income executive who left the company last year, to help sort through its subprime mortgage problems, the brokerage told employees on Monday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks tumbled on Monday on concerns that a persistent housing slump, combined with surging prices, posed the threat of 1970s-style stagflation.